- published: 21 Oct 2015
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The First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the commission exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is now always also the Prime Minister. This office is not equivalent to the usual position of the "Treasurer" in other governments; the closer equivalent of a Treasurer in the United Kingdom is the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
As of the beginning of the 17th century, the running of the Treasury was frequently entrusted to a commission, rather than to a single individual. After 1714, it was permanently in commission. The commissioners were referred to as Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, and given a number based on seniority. Eventually, the First Lord of the Treasury came to be seen as the natural head of any ministry, and, as of the time of Robert Walpole, began to be known, unofficially, as the Prime Minister. Indeed, the term Prime Minister was sometimes used in a derogatory way. "Prime minister" was first used officially in a royal warrant in 1905. Pitt the Younger once opined that the Prime Minister "ought to be the person at the head of the finances."
In the United Kingdom, there are at least six Lords of the Treasury who serve concurrently. Traditionally, this board (serving as a commission for the Lord High Treasurer) consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the Treasury, and four or more junior lords (to whom this title is usually applied).
Strictly they are commissioners for exercising the office of Lord High Treasurer (similar to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty exercising the office of Lord High Admiral). This office has continually been in commission since the resignation in 1714 of Charles, Duke of Shrewsbury, who was appointed to the office by Queen Anne on her deathbed.
Until the 19th century, this commission made most of the economic decisions of Great Britain (England, before the Act of Union 1707). However, starting during the 19th century, these positions became sinecure positions, with the First Lord serving almost invariably as Prime Minister, the Second Lord invariably as Chancellor of the Exchequer (the exchequer being the modern treasury of the United Kingdom), and the junior lords serving as assistant whips in Parliament.
Her Majesty's Treasury, or HM Treasury or informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy. The Treasury maintains the Combined Online Information System (COINS) containing a detailed analysis of departmental spending under thousands of category headings.
The Treasury of the United Kingdom traces its origins to the Treasury of the Kingdom of England, which had come into existence by 1126, in the reign of Henry I. The Treasury emerged out of the Royal Household, and served as the location where the king kept his treasures. The head of the Treasury was called the Lord Treasurer. Starting in Tudor times, the Lord Treasurer became one of the chief officers of state, and competed with the Lord Chancellor for the principal place. In 1667 Charles II of England was responsible for appointing George Downing, the builder of Downing Street, to radically reform the Treasury and the collection of taxes.